The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-04-13

The revival of the question as to the
authorship of Hugh Conveys novels,
and the production of evidence by his
executors that the last story OF all,
Living or Dead, was completed eigh-
teen months before his death recalls to
me another case in which the same
question could not be SO satisfactorily
answered. Some time ago received
letter from firm of lawyers in Lin
coins Inn Fields, who occupy the
house next door to that which Dickens
describes as the residence OF Mr..
Tulkinghorn. cit is let off in sets OF
chambers now, and in the fragments of
its greatness lawyers lie like maggots in
nuts They said that they had been
referred to me by London publisher,
and that their object in writing was to
inquire if they could not obtain through
me some redress for client who was
the victim of great injustice. This
client. lady, was the author of large
number of very popular stories, to
which she was constantly adding
through the columns of some such pa
per as the Family Herald; and as fast
as they appeared there they were stolen
by similar story paper in New York.
The injustice did not end here, for,
while they were issued anonymously in
London, the pirates in New York at
tributed them to Bertha NJ. Clay, a
fictitious name which they had invented
and used without the sanction or knowl-
edge of the victimized author.
Now could /, they inquired, suggest
any means by which the lady, who was
an invalid, with a large fam ly de-
pendent upon her. could induce the
pirates to surrender some of their
spoils? She did not want "back pay"
but hoped that some arrangement
could be made by which she might
profit by future works. In proof of
the value at which her work was held,
the lawyers inclosed a column adver-
tisment from the Tribuno, setting
forth as an extraordinary attract
the opening of a new serial by the
Bertha M. Clay" aforesaid / at once
communicated with the guilty publish
ers in New York. and to my surprise
member of the firm, "the mildest man
nered man." etc., Immediately came to
Boston to see me on the subject He
admitted that they had invented a
huLAC III Vic DOCduot bucI ndu
deemed it advisable to have the stories
attributed to some person, if only the
shadow of nom de plume; but they
had always paid for the stories IN
most handsome manner. Whom had
they paid? Why, the publ sher of the
paper in which the stories appeared in
London. / was amazed Mt the sums
mentioned, which were four or five
times as great for these very sensational
stories as they would have been for
genuine literary work: but we all know
too well that blood and thunder are
still more marketable than any other
commodities that may be purchased in
Grub street. Some further CORE
spondence showed that the remittances
from New York had been quietly pock
eted by the London publisher. who
pleaded as justification that he paid
the author o fixed sum per annum, prac-
tically salary, for the exclusive con-
troll of her work, and he considered
that this included the American as we'll
as the English market. The arrange
ment was profitable to him certainly,
for the amounts he received from Amer
lea were larger than her salary, and
thus he had the use of her stories in his
own paper for nothing.
L succeeded in establishing direct
relationship between her and the New
York firm, but it had scarcely been eff
fected when she died. The similarity
between this case and Hugh Conway's"
is that though hey death occurred
nearly three years ago, new stories by
Bertha NJ Clay" are constantly APP
pearing; and as know she left no COM
pleted work behind her, L wonder who
it is that still carries on the business"